Touring the Warehouse
Story Notes *Date of Story: January 12, 2017 *Character(s) Involved: Megan Wilcoxson, Sarah Holmes, Arthur Neilson, Felix Draco, Claudia Donovan, Pete Lattimer, Mrs. Fredric, and Myka Bering This story is the introduction of the new Agent, Sarah Holmes, to the Warehouse. The Tour “Miss Holmes, welcome to Warehouse 13.” Artie said, opening the door for the first time to Sarah. “So, this is Warehouse 13, huh?” Sarah said, as she stood just outside Artie’s Office, staring at the massive storage area for the first time. “Officially, it’s K39ZZZ on the North American Grid,” Artie said, as he walked up next to her. “But I like to refer to it as ‘America’s Attic’.” “This is an attic?” asked Sarah, surprised at the size of it. “I’d like to see the basement.” “That's actually the same nickname as the Smithsonian,” said a voice. Turning around, she saw a girl with red hair and a silver streak standing at the door. She was wearing a Sailor Moon shirt and loose blue jeans. Sarah thought she looked fairly young, maybe late teens or early twenties. “No basement or attic, just a bunch of stuff. Except the things at the Smithsonian can’t cause any harm to people.” “I think I remember you . . . .” said Sarah, thinking hard. “Weren’t you here when I arrived?” “Yeah, I found you in the field outside the Warehouse when I was checking the F.I.S.H.,” the girl explained. “My name is Megan. Megan Wilcoxson.” “Sarah. Sarah Mycroft Holmes. But you can call me Sari.” “Well, it’s time for your tour of the Warehouse,” started Artie, but a device on the desk began buzzing. Sarah knew it was some sort of communications device that the people here used, although the device itself looked rather simplistic. Sarah almost thought of hacking into the main frame in order to see how it works, but didn't think it would fly with the boss. “Oh, that must be Pete and Myka. Hopefully their trip to the Bahamas is going smoothly. Megan, would you mind giving Sarah the tour?” “Sure!” Megan said, excitement in her voice. “Come on, Sari! Let’s begin the tour!” Grabbing her arm, she dragged Sarah down the stairs and into the shelves. ---- “So, why aren’t all of these stored more securely?” asked Sarah, noticing how many of them were just sitting on the shelves. She felt a nagging familiarity about artifacts, but mostly how dangerous they were. And the tags she saw didn’t help that fear. Telekinetic torture . . . . Decapitating victims . . . . Turning victims into glass . . . . “Well, not all artifacts are bad,” explained Megan. “Granted, all of the artifacts here are here for safety’s sake, but there are some which can be used and are actually helpful. Of course, you have to watch what you use. But there are plenty of artifacts whose effects are beneficial, or simply weird. Here, take a look at this one.” She walked over to a shelf with a conch shell on it. The tag read, Easter ''Island Conch Shell: Allows users to breathe underwater''. Seemed harmless enough. “But what about this Dog Whistle?” Sarah asked, walking across the aisle to the other side. The tag read, ''Dog Whistle: Summons locusts. DO NOT BLOW WHISTLE. Damage to nearby farms will be catastrophic.'' “This seems pretty dangerous to leave lying around.” “There is one thing you haven’t considered,” Megan said. “Artifacts usually require a person to activate. In the case of this Dog Whistle, you need to blow it. The people here don’t use artifacts which can cause damage like this. Honestly, even the safest artifacts could cause damage if you use them wrong. For example, the Conch Shell lets you breathe underwater. But it won’t protect you from the pressure underwater. But if you can breathe underwater, would you think about whether or not you can survive the pressure until it is too late?” “I guess . . . .” Sarah said, unconvinced. “I still think it’s dangerous.” “Well, we do have safety precautions of all types, and the artifacts are stored based on how to keep them calm. Of course, some of the most dangerous artifacts are stored with extreme caution. The Dark Vault, for example. But that’s not a place you want to see.” Seeing that Sarah didn’t look convinced, Megan took her over to the Urban Legend Sector. There were many strange looking artifacts. But they came to one area which had a massive cell covered in a giant purple cloth. Given its size, Sarah was quite surprised that it was stored on the floor. “What is that?” Sarah asked, feeling an eerie sense from it. “It seems awfully contained considering how the other artifacts around here are stored.” “This is probably one of the most dangerous artifacts we have in storage,” Megan said, staying far back, though Sarah thought she seemed rather repulsed overall by the surrounding artifacts. “It’s called the Link Statue. This . . . . thing can cause paranoia and insanity, leading to eventual suicide. It also has the ability to teleport on its own, and its aura is so malicious that it caused artifact disturbances in the Dark Vault.” “If it’s that dangerous, why not destroy it?” she asked. “I mean, if it’s that bad, surely that would be the best thing?” “Well, this was indeed one case where the Regents had authorized its destruction, considering that we don’t ever destroy artifacts if we can help it. Except that it . . . . disagreed with that fate. It killed that person. So, in order to properly contain it and make sure it can’t cause any trouble, the Regents had Claudia develop this. It’s a six-level containment cell with a constant neutralizer flow. This makes sure that it remains inactive and protects those who pass buy.” “But if it can teleport, how do you know it’s in there?” “There’s a special sensor inside which will immediately alert the Warehouse if the artifact is removed. The Warehouse will go into a high-security lockdown to prevent its escape. This is a case where the artifact is so dangerous on its own that it has to be stored extremely cautiously. Most of the artifacts are safe enough to store on these shelves without a problem. Those which have a higher risk of activation have special precautions to prevent their activation.” “So, these artifacts which can decapitate you or make you sadistic . . . . they won’t?” “Well, not on their own,” Megan said, as she walked out of the sector. Sarah followed quickly. “We keep these artifacts here to prevent bad people from using them. We don’t let governments, companies or heads of state in charge of the Warehouse for that reason.” ''Bad people . . . .?'' Sarah felt something nag in the very back of her head, but it was too far away to make sense. “So, there are people who use artifacts for evil purposes?” “It would be more shocking if there weren’t, to be honest. But the Warehouse is there to collect these artifacts. We might not be able to keep them away from people, but we can take them out of their hands.” Megan led them along through an aisle with food. Sarah saw food which looked like it should be long moldy or gone, and yet there it was, as fresh looking as can be. Including Nostradamus’ Cherry Jam. Should that look so fresh? And what about the Original Pizza? It looked pretty good for being so old. Soon, they arrived in an aisle with a whole bunch of parts lying in it. Sarah’s excitement grew rapidly as she realized they were scientific parts, and she ran down the aisle to look at them. “These parts . . . . are these artifacts?” “Not for the most part,” Megan said, walking down the aisle. “This is the Farnsworth Aisle, where we keep all of Philo Farnsworth’s projects. Just make sure you avoid the right side of the aisle. A lot of those things are still heavily radioactive.” “What is this?” She came to a projector-looking device. “A Transmutational Three Dimensional Camera/Projector?” “That is one of the things in this aisle that is an artifact. The camera takes images and sends them to the projector, which projects the images and solidifies them into solid objects.” “Awesome!” Sarah said, excitement building in her voice. “I had no idea that there were artifacts this cool!” “Well, it depends on what the camera capturing,” Megan said, thinking back to the stories she heard from Claudia about what happened in Univille when the Projector was active. Apparently, it was bringing movies to life in the town and was caused some trouble. ---- Several hours later, they finally made their way back to the office. They had spent over an hour browsing the Convention Aisle and the Television Section, talking about several different shows that began to pop up in Sarah’s head. By the time they had realized how long they had taken, it was already past lunchtime. And when Sarah realized she had to go to the bathroom, she found out that it isn't a good idea to run into a porta potty without looking to see whether it was a good idea or not. Being inside emptied her bladder immediately, but her clothing reeked of an overnight concert. And it was not a pleasant smell at all. The good news was that Sarah felt much more comfortable knowing that she was working in a place which was trying to help the world and protect it, and that there were great people whom she could rely on. Part Two They eventually arrived at the B&B, where several Agents were chatting amongst themselves on what appeared to be old fashioned corner booths. It reminded Sarah of the times in which she traveled to undisclosed locations in order to collect strange and ultra-dangerous items. But the Bed and Breakfast seemed to release feelings of happiness and joy instead of sadness and dread. "Hey guys!" Meg called. "This is Sarah." A few people responded with their own names, but one person sat alone, fiddling with an artifact. Sarah walked up to him and sat down on a nearby chair. "Hi! Can I sit with you?" The man looked up at her, and smiled weakly. "Hey, sunshine." he replied in an accent unheard of to Sarah. "How about you leave me in peace for a little while?" "Oh." Sarah slowly backed away, as tears came into her eyes. It was obvious that she liked him in a friendly sort of way, but felt rejected by Felix's question. "I just can't keep friends anyway." she added as an afterthought before sitting next to Megan. "Are you okay?" Felix asked as he made his way to them. As he sat down next to them, Sarah quickly pushed him away. The sudden shock of the situation left the both of them feeling very angry at each other. Finally, Megan helped Felix up and addressed the situation. The older man's attitude quickly turned the nice little meeting into something else. And the comment Sarah made...what could she have possibly meant? She turned first to Felix, then to Sarah. "Look, Sari, he didn't mean to hurt your feelings, but you can't just hurt him like that. And Felix, please be more careful next time." "Is there something the matter?" said one of the other Agents; a young woman dressed in a leather jacket and corduroy pants. "Not anymore," Felix answered. "We were just having a disagreement, weren't we, sunshine?" Sarah quickly took this nickname as a good thing, and smiled her brightest smile. "Yes, Mr. Felix. I just...overreacted. I'm very sorry that this happened." "Good." the woman replied. "Wouldn't want anything bad to happen between you two. Besides, Mr. Grumpy Pants keeps a tight ship over here." She paused, and met Sarah's gaze. "I'm Claudia. Claudia Donovan." Sarah thought long and hard about that name, then came to a conclusion. "Yes, I know you. But, sadly, I don't know why." Suddenly, something clicked in Sarah's subconsciousness. It was almost as if she know someone was going to appear inside the Bed and Breakfast, but she didn't know who or why. She froze in place, her hair slightly on end, as if she had messed with the Tesla Coil. The door slowly opened, revealing an older, African-American woman with her hair in a tight bun. The woman surveyed the crowd before sitting down next to Felix's old seat. The novice Agent smiled and made her way to the woman, who seemed too overwhelmed in the paperwork she brought inside the B&B to notice. "Hello, Mrs. Fredric. Need any help?" Mrs. Fredric looked up from her work in surprise. "And how did you know I'd be here?" "Well..." Sarah suddenly became very interested in the color of her shoes. "Your hair is sticking up on end." the Caretaker noted. "I believe that this is your 'radar' sense at work." Megan raised her eyebrows. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Radar? Sari, why didn't you tell me you were some sort of superhero?" Sarah laughed awkwardly, then cleared her throat. "Where I'm from, rookies are put through an intense psychological training process. It gives them a type of vibe-like danger awareness in the form of reflexes. Unfortunately, because of it, I will always subconsciously know where everyone is, was and will be at any given moment. Including Mrs. Fredric. "I told her of this when we first met in the Warehouse. She took me in for questioning after I proved to be quite an enigma. The first time was worse, but she didn't notice that I had sensed her. The feeling went away before she walked into the interrogation room." Sarah looked at the Caretaker, who seemed incredibly interested in the story. "I hope that I didn't cause you any trouble." "Not at all. But please be more careful with this...'ability'." Mrs. Fredric turned to the group. "I have advised the Regents to look more into this ability in the hopes of defending Agents against current and future adversaries. In doing so, we will need someone to keep an eye on Miss Holmes. Agents Claudia Donovan and Pete Lattimer have already been selected for this specific job." All eyes turned to Claudia. "Uh, yeah. I'll take the job...but what does this mean?" "I will need to see you somewhere private. This is something that shouldn't be taken lightly." Once again, the weird feeling took hold of Sarah's subconscious. This time, however, she took her fingers and pinched the back of her neck. The feeling jumped from her neck to her hand before vanishing altogether. By the time it was over, Mrs. Fredric was gone. ''Man'', Sarah thought, ''I need to stop doing that. '' ---- A little while later, they were all sitting around a table enjoying dinner. Everyone seemed happy: Felix was busy talking about his latest project, Megan was halfway through a jelly sandwich on rye while reading some type of anime-style comic book, and Sarah was listening to Felix's story while munching on a chocolate bar. Pete and Myka were also around the table: having just snagged, bagged and tagged their Bahamas artifact. The former was acting in his normally eccentric fashion while snacking on cookies fresh from the oven. Myka, on the other hand, was too busy enjoying her own dinner to care much about what the other Agent was doing. But there was something missing, at least for Sarah. And the more she thought about it, the more that the world seemed so cold and distant. ''Autumn, ''she wanted to say, ''Fletcher, Horace, Mazie..'' Names that meant nothing to her, except now. She remembered losing them: to artifacts, to rivals, and even to one of her own bullets. She remembered taking a gun and shooting someone, only because someone else wanted her to. She remembered her crying as the man she loved- her mentor, even - was killed because he refused to obey the leader's rules. "I want to see them again." she whispered without thinking. "Autumn, Fletcher, Horace, Mazie..." "What's the matter?" Meg asked, putting a hand on Sarah's shoulder. "Are you missing someone?" ''Yes, ''she wanted to say. ''Yes, yes, yes. ''But she didn't, she couldn't. It was if her mind was as blank as an easel. "Sari?" Meg asking again. "Are you okay? You seem lost." The names continued to haunt her, screaming into her mind as if from a megaphone. Finally, after she couldn't take it any longer, Sarah got up from her chair and left. ---- As she was making her way out into Univille, she was stopped by a man who she recognized as Pete. "Look, if something doesn't feel right, then I'm here to help you. We're all here to help you. Just tell me what's going on and I'll make it all better. Trust me." She recognized his in-tune aura, and felt calmer. She took a deep breath, and began telling him about the people she lost, or at least what she can remember. "There was Autumn; the aura reader, Fletcher; the Canadian, Horace; my greatest mentor, and Mazie; my surrogate sister. I lost all of them; my four greatest friends, my family..." When Sarah finished, she immediately felt as if a great burden had been lifted off of her. She sniffed, and looked up at Pete, who had put his arms around her. "Thanks." she said before breathing in his peppermint cologne. "Your welcome." came the response. "Do you want to come back into the B&B now?" Sarah smiled weakly. "Sure. Perhaps I ought to ask Claudia if she could look up those names." "Wait till tomorrow." Pete replied. "Perhaps then you'll remember more." ---- To be continued... A day later... Part Three Part Three Part Three Part Three Part Three